Trust in police goes up, shows OSCE-supported survey presented in Skopje

SKOPJE, 20 December 2019 – According to the OSCE-supported Survey on Public Perception of Democratic Policing presented in Skopje today, over the last two years there has been an increase in the overall level of satisfaction and trust of citizens with the police.

According to the survey, conducted countrywide, which measured the level of communication, trust, and co-operation between citizens and the police, the number of citizens satisfied with the work of the police increased to 55% compared with 45% out of the same number of 2600 surveyed both in 2017 and 2019.

The main goal of the survey was to determine the degree of implementation of the reforms undertaken in the police, and to provide insight into the process of application of democratic policing principles in police services in North Macedonia. It focused on two target groups: citizens and police officials.

“Some of the findings show an increase in the percentage of people who are satisfied or very satisfied with the police, particularly within the Albanian community,” said Jeff Goldstein, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje. “However, there are other findings that show where more work still needs to be done, such as in terms of victims’ care in criminal cases,” he added.

Minister of Internal Affairs of North Macedonia Oliver Spasovski said: “Trust in the police is crucial in the process of developing a democratic police service, which places the protection of human rights and freedoms at the core of its actions. In this sense, we are aware we cannot analyze the confidence-building process independently from the process of enhancing professionalism in policing, and improving the quality of police services”.